1. Sarah

Sarah Churman suffers from sensorineural hearing loss and received her first implantable digital hearing aid at age 29. Watch the video to see how Sarah reacts when she hears herself clearly for the first time! Churman has authored a memoir Powered On, if you want to read more about her story.

3. Raia

Raia has bi-lateral progressive hearing loss that began at age 2.5. At age 21 she receives her second cochlear implant. To Raia, the second is just as good as the first as she is overwhelmed with the difference in sound.

4. Joey

Joey suffered from hearing loss due to spinal meningitis that he contracted as a 4 year-old. When his hearing aid was no longer sufficient as his hearing loss progressed, Joey opted for a cochlear implant at age 31. Watch the YouTube video to see his cochlear implant being activated for the first time!

5. Shelby

Shelby is an 11 year-old boy with a lot of spunk! In this video, he receives his second cochlear implant but is shocked once it’s activated. Shelby also voices his opinions on how he feels about the adjustment with a second cochlear implant. Check out our blog on acoustic adaption in order to understand why Shelby struggled at first.

3 responses to “Digital Hearing Aids Video Roundup: Hearing for the First Time”

Very cool collection of people recapturing something so precious. Well done.
It’s ironic that all but one of these clips shows the recipient in front of a professional in a local office – something that the Audicus process seems to devalue as an “expensive bundle of services” by “middlemen”.

Today with little to no insurance coverage to help the patient, the successful audiologist has to be a better salesperson than a clinician – unlike the rest of the medical profession. In the past with analog devices, audiologists were necessary. Today’s technology makes them less important.

The extreme cost of hearing aids are/were justified (rationalized) due to custom fitting requirements of past technologies. The Boomer generation developed the technology and many understand the technical hardware costs vs distribution and marketing costs.

Audicus and MDHearing and others like them may or may not be the wave of the future for hearing aids. The market will determine the value of the service/product – rewarding those companies that provide the best value, quality, and service.

There will always be a place in the market for the Beltones, Miracle Ear, etc but it may become a much smaller market share.